How 7 Games Affected the Industry in 2012

Every year, the video game industry is rocked by a handful of events. Or more specifically, a handful of games that become events in and of themselves. No, I don’t mean blockbuster game releases (although the Modern Warfare 3 drama was something to behold in 2011), but rather games that become a story themselves, the release of which affects the trends and discussions of the entire industry as a whole.

In a new feature, MCV takes a look at 7 Games that Shaped 2012, where study the games that most affected the marketplace. The focus of this list is pretty interesting: Borderlands 2 proving that retail is still a powerful force, Double Fine and Kickstarter changing the way a number of indie games (and a few AA titles) are produced and released, and the quality tipping point of small, downloadable games with titles like Journey and Walking Dead. Each of these things has played a huge role in 2012 in terms of shaping the industry, and I’m curious to see what it means in the future.

Although some of the stuff on the list doesn’t quite apply to those of us in the States — like Mass Effect 3 and the collapse of GAME — Mass Effect 3 is still just as notable this year because of how it affected the discussion of art and the consumer. It’s one of the more memorable times we’ve seen a creator change a product after its release in order to cater to what consumers wanted from it.

So, what do you guys think the biggest game stories of 2012 were? What other games affected the industry this year? Go!

One thought on “How 7 Games Affected the Industry in 2012”

Game going into administration was really disheartening to see. They’ve been my go-to place for games for as long as I can remember. Well, now that I’m on PC that’s completely different now.
On the point of some hardcore gamers saying freemium is “Pay2Win”, League is 100% proof to the contrary. No matter how fancy my character looks, I still get my ass handed to me. Bcuz skillz. That hasn’t stopped me putting an absurd amount of money into it for less than a year’s worth of playtime.